New Jersey Health Statistics 1996

MORTALITY
1996

INFANT
MORTALITY

OVERVIEW

Infant
mortality is defined as the number of deaths within the first year of
life; the infant mortality rate is computed as the number of infant
deaths in a calendar year per 1,000 live births recorded for the same
period. In 1996, the number of resident infant deaths was 792, a 2.2
percent increase from 1995. The infant mortality rate in the state has
been generally declining for more than a decade; however the 1996 rate
of 6.9 infant deaths per 1,000 live births was a 3.0 percent increase
over the 1995 rate of 6.7 (Table M25 and Figure M11).

Infant
mortality rates continue to differ by race. In assessing infant mortality
rates by race, it should be noted that live newborns are assigned the
racial classification of the mother for purposes of analysis, but death
certificates may be assigned a racial classification by hospital staff,
the respondent providing information for the death certificate, or others.
In 1996, the numbers of infant deaths by race were as follows: 436 white,
301 black, 22 other races, and 33 deaths in which the race was unknown
or could not be classified (Tables M23A-M23J). Infant mortality rates
for infants classified as white, black, and other races were 5.3, 14.9,
and 2.6 per 1,000 race-specific live births, respectively.

The infant
mortality rate decreased from the 1995 level among whites and other
races, but increased among blacks (Martin, R.M., et al., 1998). The
white infant mortality rate declined 5.4 percent over the year and decreased
3.7 percent among infants of other races. The rate rose 9.6 percent
among black infants. The black infant mortality rate was 2.8 times the
white rate in 1996, a slight increase over the prior year=s ratio of
2.4.

NEONATAL
DEATHS

More than
two-thirds of infant deaths in 1996 (70.2%) occurred during the neonatal
period, which encompasses the first 27 days of life (Table M25). There
were 556 neonatal deaths in 1996, which is a rate of 4.9 per 1,000 live
births. This was an increase of 4.3 percent from the 1995 rate. Of the
neonatal deaths, 324 were white, 198 were black, 12 were of other races,
and 22 had no race stated. The neonatal rate varied by race: the rates
for white, black, and other race babies were 3.9, 9.8, and 1.4 per 1,000
race-specific live births, respectively. The black neonatal death rate
was 2.5 times that for white neonates.

POSTNEONATAL
DEATHS

In 1996,
there were 236 infant deaths (29.8% of all infant deaths) which occurred
during the postneonatal period, from 28 days to one year of life. Of
the postneonatal deaths, 112 were white, 103 were black, ten were among
other races, and eleven had no race stated. The respective mortality
rates were 1.4, 5.1, and 1.2 per 1,000 race-specific live births. The
black postneonatal death rate was 3.6 times that for whites.

LEADING
CAUSES OF DEATH

The causes
of deaths of infants are different in the neonatal and postneonatal
periods. Congenital anomalies were the leading cause of death of infant
deaths in 1996 (Table M21), although this cause was only the second
leading cause of death for both neonates (88 deaths) and postneonates
(45 deaths). Disorders relating to short gestation and unspecified low
birth weight, the underlying cause in 124 deaths, was the second leading
cause of infant deaths. All of these were neonatal deaths. Sudden infant
death syndrome and respiratory distress syndrome were responsible for
58 and 57 deaths, respectively. The fifth leading cause of infant deaths
in 1996, maternal complications of pregnancy affecting the newborn,
was the cause of 45 infant deaths, all of which occurred in neonates.
Disorders relating to short gestation and unspecified low birth weight
and congenital anomalies together accounted for 38.1 percent of deaths
during the neonatal period. More than 40 percent of postneonatal deaths
(42.4%) were due to sudden infant death syndrome or congenital anomalies.
Deaths due to each of the four leading causes of infant deaths decreased
from the levels of the prior year. In particular, deaths from respiratory
distress syndrome dropped 21.9 percent from 1995 (Martin, R.M., et.
al., 1998).

TABLE
M21. FIVE LEADING CAUSES OF INFANT, NEONATAL AND POSTNEONATAL DEATHS
NEW JERSEY, 1996